P15-B new berth rising to expand MICT capacity

EXPANDING CAPACITY AT MICT. An engineering rendering shows the new, eighth berth that global ports operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. is building at its flagship port Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). Groundbreaking rites for the new berth were held last Monday led by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Philippine Ports Authority general manager Jay Santiago and ICTSI EVP Christian R. Gonzalez. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Global ports operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is adding another berth to its flagship, the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).

The new berth, MICT’s eighth, is beyond the company’s contractual commitments to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago and ICTSI executive vice president Christian R. Gonzalez led groundbreaking rites for the new berth last Monday (May 29).

To be built in phases, ICTSI in a statement said Berth 8 will greatly add to MICT’s capability to service foreign ultra-container vessels of up to 18,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit), a trend that has been growing in the past years.

The new berth will create another 400 meters of quay along with 12 hectares of yard space that will bring an additional annual capacity of 200,000 TEUs.

When completed, the MICT will have an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs, making it the Philippines’ largest international gateway..

The full build will give the MICT a total berth length of 2,300 meters, a 21 percent increase in berthing capacity.

“We are excited to announce the development of Berth 8, which enables us to be in the same league as the world’s top terminals,” the statement quoted Gonzalez as saying.

“More importantly, this will bring significant economic benefits to the Philippines as we have the added capacity to handle growing trade volumes,” Gonzalez said.

“We thank the DoTr and the PPA for supporting our initiatives and sharing our vision for a vibrant Philippine port and logistics industry that will translate to the overall prosperity of the country,” he said.

Along with equipment, Berth 8 is estimated to cost P15 billion.

MICT is currently capable of handling neo-Panamax ships through Berths 6 and 7, which are operated by five quay cranes (QC). A sixth crane is scheduled to arrive in July 2023 and will be operational within the year.

Berth 8 will operate with a minimum of four QCs – two of which will be delivered in 2025.

Since taking over MICT in 1988, ICTSI has remitted in excess of P96 billion to the government through the PPA. Over the same period, ICTSI has remitted to its host government – the City of Manila – over P3 billion in taxes.

The company has invested in excess of P40 billion to modernize the MICT, handling over 47 million TEUs since 1988.

Aside from the construction of Berth 8, ICTSI has commenced the modernization of Berths 1 to 5 and their backup and yard areas. The project included the installation of additional reefer racks to accommodate approximately 300 TEUs of reefer cargo.

Aside from infrastructure developments, ICTSI continues to invest in technology to make MICT operations more efficient.

ICTSI launched a mobile app last year that grants port users visibility over their cargo.

The ICTSI App enables customers to monitor the status of their shipment across ICTSI’s network of terminals in the Philippines—among them MICT, NorthPort, Subic Bay International Terminals (SBITC) and Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT). Other ICTSI terminals in the country will soon be covered by the app.

TSB